Catheters for draining the bladder are increasingly used for intermittent as well as indwelling or permanent catheterization. Typically, catheters are used by patients suffering from urinary retention or by disabled individuals like para- or tetraplegics who may have no control permitting voluntary urination and for whom catheterization may be the way of urinating.
Catheterization is thus increasingly becoming a daily-life procedure significantly improving quality of life for a large group of patients.
Existing catheters are made from a single piece of a continuous catheter tube. The outer diameter of the catheter tube is typically constant throughout its length.
The length of the catheter enables insertion of a certain length into the urethra until urine starts to flow. At this point a certain over-length of the catheter should be available. The over-length enables the user to firmly hold the catheter, to guide urine to a place of disposal and to withdraw the catheter safely and without any risk of the catheter disappearing into the urethra.
It is important that the catheter does not collapse or kink and thereby blocks the passage for urine to drain through the catheter. Existing catheters are therefore typically made from a form stabile and relatively hard but still bendable tube, e.g. made from PVC, PU, PE, silicone or latex. Since the hardness of the tubes is selected relatively high with the view to avoid kinking, the catheters may collapse if they are bent in too small radius or curvature.
Accordingly, existing catheters not only have a considerable length, but they are also typically packed in an elongate condition. Therefore, the existing catheters may be troublesome to handle and to bring along, not least for individuals for whom catheterization is a daily-life procedure, wherein catheterization takes place several times a day.
WO 03/002179 A2 discloses a catheter comprising two catheter sections arranged in a telescopic fashion, a first one of the catheter sections may be intended for insertion into the human urethra, whereas a second one of the catheter sections is usually intended for forming a prolongation of the catheter outside the human urethra during use of the catheter. In use, that is in a first mutual configuration of the two catheter sections, the second catheter section preferably coextends with the first catheter section away from a distal end of the first catheter section. In a second mutual configuration, which usually is the configuration in which the telescopic kit is stored and transported, at least a portion of the first catheter section may be surrounded by the second catheter section. In order to allow the user to pull the first catheter section out of the second catheter section without touching the insertable part of the catheter, a container may preferably be provided to engage the first catheter section in a locking engagement. Thereby, it will be allowed to use the container to pull the first catheter section out of the second catheter section. The second catheter section is sealed by a first sealing closure and a second sealing closure, the second sealing closure being provided with internal and radially inwardly extending projections adapted for engaging a catheter eye. Thus, the second sealing closure engages the first catheter section by means of the inwardly extending projection for easy withdrawal of the first catheter section.
Existing catheters are designed to minimize the risk of sores in the mucous membrane and to give substantially no sensation of pain during insertion. Accordingly, known catheters are typically provided with a smooth and slippery surface optimized for safe and comfortable insertion into the urethra. Therefore, it may often be difficult, not least for a disabled user, to handle the catheter by manipulation of the slippery over-length.
Thus, there is a need for a better way of fixating a first section of a telescopic device.